Chapter 488: Trash Beast Fire, What Can You Do to Me?

“Old Mou…”

Zhang Duoyu desperately halted her forward momentum.

She had never imagined that after they split up to run, the final outcome would be Old Mou's long-distance sound transmission.

A Wangzuo!

That was a Wangzuo!

In the world, aside from a premeditated ambush, in battles of the same level, if a Wangzuo wanted to escape, who could stop them?

But!

After answering the call alone, when she arrived here and saw Zhang Zhongmou for the last time, it was the sight of his head being brutally crushed between the two fingers of that super-large Bai Kulu.

How absurd was this?

Zhang Duoyu's heart raced with panic.

There was no way anyone else could be here.

Since that was the case, Zhang Zhongmou had still died at the hands of this big brute.

That meant this Bai Kulu absolutely had a true killing move that didn't match its apparent strength.

A super-powerful trump card that could trap even a Wangzuo and prevent escape!

“But how could a Bai Kulu have something like that?”

Zhang Duoyu still found the result incredibly ridiculous.

She knew about Bai Ku.

Back when it was first opened, she and Zhang Taiying had sneaked in.

The Ji Luo carving piece was also obtained here.

At that time, creatures like Bai Kulu were fragile; aside from their Grandmaster-level bodies having some value, what else was there to notice?

Nothing at all!

But the facts were right in front of her, leaving Zhang Duoyu no choice but to believe.

“Run!”

The moment she realized she couldn't save Old Mou, Zhang Duoyu immediately changed her mind.

No matter how unbelievable it was, staying in front of the Bai Kulu would just be a waste of effort.

Why bother with a fight that was completely meaningless and could very well end her own life?

With a “whoosh,” after gliding through the void for less than half a breath, Zhang Duoyu turned around instantly.

She was still a long distance from the Bai Kulu, so as long as she turned early, that big brute couldn't possibly catch up.

“Roar!”

The Bone Giant let out an excited roar.

The inexplicable death of the ant in front of it had already left it feeling quite unhappy.

It never expected that, before dying, this guy had actually called over another dish for it!

How thoughtful!

The ground exploded with a “bang.”

It pounded the earth with both hands and sprayed white flames from its feet again.

The Bai Kulu shot toward the second prey with all its might.

“Xiao Yu!”

Xu Xiaoshou hid within the sky curtain and immediately turned back.

Yu Zhiwen instantly understood his intent.

From the distance between the two, she could tell that even with the white flames boosting it, by the time the Bai Kulu arrived, that beautiful woman would likely have vanished.

“Don't worry, the Tianji Array is complete!”

Yu Zhiwen withdrew her slightly trembling slender hand.

“Da Yue Lingkong” was the strongest Tianji Array she could currently perform.

Once this array formed, opponents of the same level couldn't resist it at all.

As for Wangzuo...

In a state of complete unpreparedness, they would inevitably be toyed with in the palm of her hand.

Even if they could peer through the heavens and spot the anomalies in this world, by the time they snapped out of it, it would already be a short while later.

With that time intercepted,

Wouldn't the Bai Kulu still deliver a double fist strike?

“Da Yue Lingkong.”

“Sacrifice!”

Yu Zhiwen's eyes were devout as she pressed her virtual palms together, instantly disrupting the mechanisms of heaven and earth.

The Tianji Array patterns hidden in the void, after forming, directly injected into the heavenly dao.

It was like a Wangzuo's domain, where within this self-controlled realm, no one else could detect any traces.

A faint “buzz” sounded amid the explosive movements of the two figures, completely inaudible.

The void showed no changes.

But Xu Xiaoshou saw that high in the nine heavens, a faint mark of a full moon suddenly appeared.

This full moon was too illusory.

Its appearance didn't bring any major changes in brightness, nor did it awaken the moonlight; it merely left such a mark in the nine heavens.

If not for hearing Yu Zhiwen's soft chant, Xu Xiaoshou might not have even noticed the appearance of this full moon.

“Moon Shadow!”

As Zhang Duoyu was about to vanish from sight,

Yu Zhiwen softly commanded again, and the full moon mark in the nine heavens instantly turned shadowy. In the vagueness, it seemed to gain a ring of moon halo.

Now Xu Xiaoshou could see clearly.

When the moon halo appeared, Zhang Duoyu, who had been completely outside the Tianji Array, was instantly enveloped by an invisible clear glow.

As this layer of moonlight covered her, the Tianji Array patterns seemed to emerge faintly from the void, then rapidly expanded, instantly encircling Zhang Duoyu and even the several li ahead of her!

“So strong!”

Xu Xiaoshou's pupils contracted.

Spiritual arrays were tangible.

So he had never seen any spiritual array expand its range after forming.

But the Tianji Array was intangible.

Its existence was meant to steal the power of heaven and earth.

Thus, as this layer of moonlight descended, the Tianji Array, which clearly only covered a few li, almost seemed to expand by more than ten times.

Wherever the moonlight covered, it was all within the domain!

“What is this?”

Zhang Duoyu, speeding along, vaguely sensed something off.

The heavenly dao in this place seemed to have been altered?

An illusion?

How could such an ability, only achievable by Dao Severing, appear here?

But...

A Wangzuo's intuition couldn't be wrong!

“Could it be that this is the special ability of that Bai Kulu?”

“Is it because of this trace of Dao Severing power that Old Mou died at its hands?”

Although she felt no harm, her intuition told Zhang Duoyu that if she didn't speed up, she might really be held back by that big brute.

“Pfft!”

Without further thought, Zhang Duoyu spat out a mouthful of essence blood, and her speed instantly more than doubled.

“I can't stay here!”

After witnessing Old Mou's tragic end, even though she couldn't see the pursuing Bai Kulu behind her, Zhang Duoyu directly used blood escape without holding back.

“She's speeding up.”

Xu Xiaoshou watched Zhang Duoyu, who was about to rush out of the “perception” edge, and couldn't help but remind her.

He turned his head to look at Yu Zhiwen.

This girl seemed to issue commands effortlessly one after another.

But from her damp clothes, it was clear that setting up the Tianji Array was no easy task.

With her Star Pupils unmoving, after observing that Zhang Duoyu had completely let her guard down against the moonlight, Yu Zhiwen timed it perfectly to the moment the beautiful woman was about to exit the domain, quickly forming seals.

“Moon Delay.”

Two light words.

The Tianji Array showed no changes at all.

Even Xu Xiaoshou's “perception” couldn't detect any array patterns manifesting.

But right after Yu Zhiwen spoke,

Zhang Duoyu, who should have charged out of the “Da Yue Lingkong” domain, suddenly began veering in an arc, and after a large turn, charged back inside!

“This…”

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked.

It had seamlessly altered the rules of the heavenly dao, like secretly setting up an illusion or trap array, making that beautiful woman lose her direction?

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized, lifting his eyes.

He saw that the full moon mark in the sky had unknowingly turned into a half-moon state.

“Good one…”

Xu Xiaoshou was astounded.

This move not only fooled Zhang Duoyu but even him, an outsider right beside Yu Zhiwen from start to finish, couldn't figure it out at all.

“Is this the Tianji Array?”

“The borrowing and alteration of the heavenly dao to this extent—ordinary Wangzuo probably can't compare!”

“No wonder…”

Xu Xiaoshou understood.

No wonder the threshold for Tianji masters was so high that one couldn't even touch it without reaching Grandmaster, let alone enter.

No wonder, in the current continent, the status of the contemporary hall master of Shengshen Hall, hailed as the number one, was unshakable!

After Wangzuo, among peers, the depth of heavenly dao comprehension determined a spiritual cultivator's combat strength.

But Tianji masters, from the start, endlessly invoked and stole heavenly mechanisms.

Under the growth accompanied by such a sub-profession, how could an ordinary Wangzuo compare to a Tianji Wangzuo?

And as time passed,

Even Dao Severing or Taixu would be left further behind!

“Heavenly dao comprehension…”

Xu Xiaoshou murmured absentmindedly.

In this world's spiritual cultivation system, the true favored ones of the era were probably not the surviving ancient sword cultivators, but Tianji masters!

Having seen through this, Xu Xiaoshou looked at Yu Zhiwen with a different light in his eyes.

This was truly from a major power.

This was the true heaven's proud daughter, mastering the most convenient path to godhood in the world!

“Something's wrong!”

As Zhang Duoyu flew, she realized the situation had changed.

She actually saw the Bai Kulu, which should have been left far behind, appear from the left!

“This…”

“How is that possible?”

Her pupils contracted, and Zhang Duoyu instantly understood.

“Domain!”

“This Bai Kulu actually has the unique domain power of spiritual cultivators?”

“Earlier, that trace of heavenly dao alteration—was it tampering with the heavenly mechanisms, pulling me into an invisible trap array?”

“Damn it!”

Zhang Duoyu cursed in anger, feeling like she was about to lose her mind.

She never expected that the Bai Kulu's special ability would be this human-exclusive heavenly dao power.

No wonder Old Mou died here.

Caught off guard and entering the opponent's domain, if not noticed immediately, forget splitting into two—even being toyed to death was possible!

“Domain, activate!”

Although opening her own domain under the opponent's was a last resort,

Because that way, her domain would also be under its control and eventually broken,

But at this point, Zhang Duoyu couldn't care less.

As long as the domain opened, she could break through the Tianji interference and find her direction again.

Even if the domain was shattered in the end, it would only cost her some future healing time.

Escaping alive was the priority!

The idea was good, but...

“Moon Silence!”

With Star Pupils quietly observing, Yu Zhiwen had a clear view of any heavenly dao aura on Zhang Duoyu.

In such a situation, how could she not know what the beautiful woman was thinking?

Just as the heavenly dao power was about to gather, Xu Xiaoshou clearly saw Yu Zhiwen issue a command, and the half-moon mark in the nine heavens directly turned into a crescent shape.

Immediately after, Zhang Duoyu's spherical domain only managed to form a vague outline before it directly dissipated.

It was like being silenced.

No heavenly dao power could form under the crescent mark!

“Can you suppress her domain power?”

Xu Xiaoshou was greatly surprised.

“No.”

Yu Zhiwen shook her head.

“Essentially, all Tianji techniques borrow the heavenly dao to change rules.”

“What I did was just make a slight adjustment to the heavenly dao power around her, that's all.”

“Heavenly dao's waxing and waning makes Wangzuo difficult to act.”

“The Bai Ku small world already has flawed rules; forcibly using overly powerful heavenly dao forces, like domain power, could essentially trigger the small world's collapse.”

“But that's from an external perspective.”

Yu Zhiwen paused before continuing: “For the Wangzuo themselves, arbitrarily invoking the incomplete heavenly dao power is extremely likely to harm themselves—at the very least, it leads to domain condensation failure.”

“Moon Silence just amplifies that flaw, making the heavenly dao deficit around her even greater.”

“So…”

Yu Zhiwen wiped away some sweat and stopped speaking.

Xu Xiaoshou was clever; how could he not understand the rest?

After such a significant heavenly dao deficit, how could a domain formed by borrowing heavenly dao power truly take shape?

“Good one.”

“Whatever you do, don't let my ‘Textile Mastery’ reach Wangzuo level—this isn't ‘textile,’ it's straight-up judgment!”

Xu Xiaoshou's mind raced.

Tianji techniques were too strong!

After entering Wangzuo, when all spiritual cultivators began borrowing heavenly dao power,

A spiritual skill that could alter the heavenly dao might decide the victor in critical moments.

Let alone something like Tianji or Textile techniques, which could directly fine-tune the heavenly dao in a small area.

This was basically cutting off the source of a Wangzuo's power!

“Fa-failed?”

Zhang Duoyu stared at her shattered domain in a daze.

She never expected that the rare one-in-a-million chance of domain condensation failing in a small world would happen to her at such a critical moment.

“It's impossible to be a coincidence!”

“And it's not the Bai Kulu tampering with the heavenly dao!”

She shook her head, forcing herself to stay clear-headed.

“Even if my domain only formed half, that big brute couldn't alter my domain power so quickly through its own domain.”

“So…”

“There's a ghost!”

“There's a ghost here!”

Zhang Duoyu was horrified.

Her intuition told her that perhaps her earlier assumptions were completely wrong.

The Bai Kulu definitely couldn't have a domain.

This power unique to human spiritual cultivators—not only did that big brute lack spiritual energy, but in this small world with incomplete rules, how could it easily comprehend a domain?

“It's not the Bai Kulu, so it must be a person!”

“A Wangzuo!”

Only then did Zhang Duoyu truly understand why Old Mou had died.

Under such pursuit,

This place actually hid another Wangzuo with strength not inferior to her own...

And it was highly likely a Dao Severing expert.

Otherwise, why would her domain power dissipate so quickly?

“But a Dao Severing expert, with no grudge against me, why try to kill me?”

“Hong Yi couldn't be so sneaky. Could it be that the one hiding in the shadows has a master-servant relationship with this Bai Kulu, and is watching the prey's miserable state like a cat toying with a mouse?”

“This…”

While Zhang Duoyu was lost in thought, the Bai Kulu appeared with a sinister laugh.

This human was too stupid!

She could have run out of its attack range, but instead, she started circling?

And after circling, she ended up charging straight at it?

Who could handle that?

If it didn't land a punch, how could it live up to the title of Bai Kulu God?

“Whoosh!”

Amid the howling hurricane, the Bone Giant clenched its fists and smashed down directly at the oncoming Zhang Duoyu.

“Damn it.”

Zhang Duoyu's face turned pale.

In this situation, she had no choice but to face it head-on.

“Ti Xuan Yin Zhang!”

She suddenly pulled her right hand back, and in the void, eerie sound waves emerged like ghosts entering the world, exploding in everyone's minds.

Even Xu Xiaoshou and Yu Zhiwen, hidden in the sky curtain, felt their hair stand on end and their minds go blank upon hearing this ghost-like wail.

“Sizzle sizzle.”

As a spiritual creature, the Bone Giant couldn't withstand this sound wave attack either; the white flames in its eyes flickered twice, nearly extinguishing.

It clutched its head in pain.

This type of attack hit its weak point directly.

When the pain eased slightly and its vision cleared, the Bai Kulu saw the ant raising its palm, slamming it straight into its forehead.

“Screech—”

An extremely high-pitched, miserable shriek, like a ghost being choked and branded with fire, echoed from the nine underworlds.

Not only did it instantly weaken the resisting Bai Kulu, but Xu Xiaoshou and Yu Zhiwen also felt their heads buzz, nearly exploding.

Blood trickled from their ears; even a Wangzuo couldn't endure this mental attack, let alone Xu Xiaoshou at Grandmaster level.

Yu Zhiwen was nearly stabbed into unconsciousness.

However, as a natural reaction to mental damage, under this force, the Zhuji Star Pupils directly burst into light.

“Thud.”

Within the sky curtain, stars flowed.

In an instant, the heavenly dao power was overturned.

The shrill cry, upon reaching the starlight, was like being intercepted midway and sent into spatial fragments, vanishing completely.

“Who?”

The Bai Kulu was dim-witted.

But Zhang Duoyu's Wangzuo spiritual sense wouldn't miss such an obvious heavenly dao power.

She whipped her head around, and even though her sight and spiritual sense showed no one, she still locked her gaze dead on Xu Xiaoshou and Yu Zhiwen's position.

“Damn…”

Xu Xiaoshou came to his senses, nearly vomiting from the nausea.

This shrill cry was like an amplified version of childhood nightmare sounds—fingernails on a chalkboard, endless like in a swimming pool.

That cry almost sent him straight to the afterlife.

“Under scrutiny, Passive Value, +1.”

A prompt popped up, pulling him back to reality.

In his “perception,” Zhang Duoyu had abandoned the Bai Kulu and was charging straight toward them.

“Holy shit!”

Xu Xiaoshou was startled.

This Zhang Duoyu charging over wasn't like the completely defenseless Zhang Zhongmou earlier.

Not only that, with such a clear target, once she closed in, wouldn't he be done for on the spot?

“Sword Will.”

Xu Xiaoshou instantly thought of this move.

If he waited for her to get close and then used it, separating her head from her body—wouldn't that be great?

But what if?

If she dared to charge, she must have some guard; what if she dodged?

Even if she didn't,

A Wangzuo in full strength, even if split in two, would definitely not lose combat ability, right?

Xu Xiaoshou quickly dismissed the idea.

He grabbed the barely recovered Yu Zhiwen, gripped his Yuan Mansion, and wanted to make Zhang Duoyu miss.

But in that instant of thought, he glimpsed the faintly flickering white flames in the Bai Kulu's eyes.

“Is this thing about to die?”

This strange attack might indeed deal fatal damage to the Bai Kulu.

But similarly,

This fatal injury made Xu Xiaoshou remember that he wasn't just an ancient sword cultivator—he was also a proper Jin Zhao alchemist trained by Sang Lao!

Fire system—wasn't that his foundational path?

“Jin Zhao Tian Fen!”

Without hesitation, Xu Xiaoshou used this long-forgotten move at the last moment.

Jin Zhao Tian Fen—everything in sight burns!

However, Xu Xiaoshou's target wasn't the oncoming Zhang Duoyu.

Jin Zhao Tian Fen was strong, but currently only at Grandmaster level damage.

Since everything burned, what changes would occur to the nearly extinguished Bai Kulu under this move?

“Whoosh!”

The white flames surged.

Just as expected, like a seedling about to die in the wind, under the heavy fire pressure, the flames in the Bone Giant's eyes reignited.

Sensing that same-origin power, its strength directly returned to its peak.

It wasn't out of oil or wick.

It just lacked a guiding force!

“Roar—”

With a roar, spotting such a perfect distance again, the big brute smashed the ground and leaped into the air.

It opened its mouth and inhaled.

Its skull expanded.

“Pfft!”

A heavenly cascade reappeared.

The furious intent in the Bai Kulu's eyes, with this expulsion, poured out across the nine heavens.

“Disaster!”

Zhang Duoyu saw the flame cascade behind her about to catch up.

But she ignored it.

Capture the thief, capture the king first.

If this hidden person truly had a master-servant relationship with the Bai Kulu, no matter how she blocked the big brute's attacks, it would be useless.

The hidden person wouldn't die,

And the Bai Kulu would never die!

As for why this person, who clearly had the Bai Kulu as a spiritual pet and superior strength, chose to attack stealthily...

Just thinking with her toes made it clear.

This person wasn't in peak condition!

Under her palm, whether it was an injured Dao Severing expert or a weakened Wangzuo,

It would be the end!

“Run!”

As Zhang Duoyu and the flame cascade assaulted simultaneously, even Xu Xiaoshou, who didn't want to leave the sky curtain, had no choice but to flee.

He didn't even dare use his Yuan Mansion.

Who knew if the Yuan Mansion's entity could maintain its elegant pebble form under such white flames?

“No need.”

Unlike Xu Xiaoshou's panic,

Even facing a Wangzuo, Yu Zhiwen remained composed.

Xu Xiaoshou glanced sideways.

He didn't know how this girl, who usually just paddled under his wing, could have such composure now.

He saw Yu Zhiwen press her palms together again, with Tianji surging secretly.

“Xiang Yue · Dou Zhuan Xing Yi!”

The crescent mark in the nine heavens seemed finally swallowed by the heavenly dog, vanishing completely.

In the instant it disappeared, as Zhang Duoyu approached, and the heavenly flame cascade rushed in, Xu Xiaoshou clearly felt that familiar fluctuation.

“Spatial fluctuation?”

“Teleportation?”

“Boom!”

The void exploded.

That small space, completely locked by energy, even if no one was visible, Zhang Duoyu knew the person was there.

With one palm, space shattered.

But.

Nothing!

“Huh?”

Zhang Duoyu was baffled.

This was completely opposite to her judgment!

No time to think, with one strike failing, she had to settle for second best.

She barely turned, erecting a round shield, and Zhang Duoyu's spiritual energy instantly covered her whole body.

“Sizzle.”

Facing the void-spewing white flames, she sneered, “Trash beast fire, what can it do to me?!”